Senior Connects Lesson Plans

In 2003 after a senior citizen appealed for help because his wheelchair-bound neighbors could not leave their senior facility to receive training to learn how to send emails to their grandchildren, the nonprofit now called Net Literacy was envisioned and launched by middle school student volunteers. Net Literacy’s student volunteers were also volunteering at the Carmel Clay Public Library teaching computer and Internet skills, and the first training manual used was graciously donated by the library. Computer and Internet training grew to be a core competency of Net Literacy, and over the years, the training manual was enhanced with a larger font, more pictures, and modified content. Still, Net Literacy’s computer and Internet training manual rests on the foundation created by a public library. It was only fitting that in 2008, Net Literacy shared copies of its own training manuals with the Carmel Clay Public Library. As every training session begin, our student volunteers are reminded of the importance hub of learning that libraries offer in thousands of communities across our country. Thank you Carmel Clay Public Library.

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During each training session, students spend time showing seniors how using the Internet will impact their lives

While the translator function provides an approximate translation of Net Literacy’s content into many languages, the lesson plans were hard coded in English and Spanish. A facility with recent Russian immigrants requested that Net Literacy help teach their residents computer and Internet skills so they could be more quickly integrated into American society, and a third translation of the training manuals were created.

The Lesson Plans focus on four topics: computer basics, the Internet, email basics, and social networking. Click on Computer Basics, The Internet, Email Basics, and Social Networking to learn more about each important section that will help enable readers to become computer and Internet savvy. Other important training information, such as Internet safety, was developed to provide an integrated training program and is available by visiting the Safe Connects website. Click on Computer Basics, The Internet, E-mail Basics, or Social Networking to start your adventure.